Arizona Parents Abandon 2 Year Old to Play ‘Pokemon Go’ !

We’ve all heard of people spending days on end indoors playing video games and even that gaming itself can cause relationship problems, there are also those unlucky few who develop an addiction to playing video games which can cause all kinds of mental and physical health problems, but a young married Arizona couple took video game abuse to a frightening new level.

Arrested: Brianne Daley (left) and Brent Daley (right)

The pair, from San Tan Valley, left their 2-year-old son home alone whilst they went out to catch Pokemon. The hugely successful android and Apple store game ‘Pokemon Go’, released in July of this year across an array of hand held devices, which also has over 100 million downloads and is available in over 30 countries across 4 continents seems to have left quite the impression on the boy’s 25-year-old mother Brianne and 27-year-old father Brent Daley who left the toddler for over 90 minutes to drive around San Tan Valley, stopping at parks and various other places to try and find the in game creatures.

Neighbours became alert at around 10:30pm when they saw the young boy alone outside, barefoot and wearing nothing but a diaper and a t-shirt. Officers who responded to the scene checked the home for clues, and after finding photographs in the house, ascertained that the child lived there. A further search of the property led officers to find a phone number for Brent, who declared “whatever” when officers called him regarding the welfare of his son.

An hour after officers had responded to the call, Brent and Brianne returned home, telling officers they had only gone out to get gas whilst their toddler son was sleeping, although after further questioning they later admitted to being out in their car driving around the city looking for Pokemon. Paul Babeu, the Sheriff for Pinal County issued the following statement:

“Our agency and many other law enforcement agencies have been warning people about personal safety while playing this interactive smartphone game, but we never would have imagined that parents would abandon a child to play ‘Pokemon Go.’ This goes beyond comprehension,”

Both Brent and Brianne Daley have been arrested for the endangerment and neglect of their 2-year-old son. The Police have confirmed that he has since been placed into the custody of children’s services.